WATER BIRDS. 177 



or by some of the numerous enemies which beset ground-nesting birds. 

 Miss Harriet H. Wright, of Saginaw, states that she examined two nests in 

 that vicinity, May 14, 1906, one of which contained three young, and the 

 other four eggs. The female is a very close sitter, seldom leaving the nest 

 until almost trodden on, and occasionally 

 she will allow herself to be lifted from 

 the nest by the hand, sometimes even .'%;'' 

 scrambling back as soon as released. f -^^ 



The extent to which Woodcock some- 

 times suffer from bad weather during ^ig. 49. woodcock's wing-tip. 

 migration is well shown by an account "^'"^ 

 given by Arthur T. Wayne of a cold wave and gale on the coast of South 

 CaroHna between December 27, 1892 and January 2, 1893. He states 

 that at Mt. Pleasant, S. C. 2,000 Woodcock were killed on one day and 

 10,000 in six days, l^etween the above dates (Auk, X, 204). 



TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION. 



Forehead and crown ashy gray, with an indistinct median black stripe; occiput and nape 

 clear black, with three or four narrow cross-bars of deep biiff or rufous; entire back, scapulars 

 and rump black, mottled and barred with rufous, but many feathers broadly edged or 

 tipped with clear bluish-gray; side of hcA-d ashy to buffy-w^hite, with a black line from base 

 of bill to eye; a similar black stripe across the ear-coverts; chin white; sides of neck brownish 

 ash; throat, breast and belly buffy or pale cinnamon, deepening on the sides and flanks; 

 breast and throat indistinctly barred with rufous; primaries slate-colored; secondaries 

 and most of wing-coverts barred with black and buff; tail-feathers mainly clear black, 

 the tips abruptly ashy above, silvery white below. Sexes alike. Length 10.50 to 11.75 

 inches; wing 4.80 to 5.70; culmen 2.50 to 3; tarsus 1.25. 



92. Wilson's Snipe. Gallinago delicata (Ord). (230) 



Synonyms: Common Snipe, Jack-snipe, American Snipe, Bog-snipe, English Snipe, 

 Snipe. — Scolopax Wilsoni, Temm., Nutt., Aud., and others. — Gallinago wilsoni, Bonap., 

 Cass., Baird, Coues. — Scolopax drummondi, Sw. and Rich. 



Figures 51, 52. 



The distinctive marks are the long slender bill, about 2h inches, the 

 comparatively short legs, the upper parts striped with brown and tan, 

 and the under parts more or less streaked, spotted and barred. 



Distribution. — North and middle America, breeding from the northern 

 United States northward; south in winter to the West Indies and northern 

 South America. 



This is another sportsman's bird, but, unlike the Woodcock, it is found 

 mainly in the open marshes, never in woods or even in thickets along streams. 

 Like the Woodcock, however, it is rarely or never seen upon the ground, 

 l)eing invisible until flushed, when it rises with a sharp call or ''scaipe" 

 and flies away with great rapidity and often in a zigzag course. W^hen first 

 flushed it is likely to keep near the grass, but after flying a hundred yards 

 or less it is apt to rise to a considerable height, circling about for several 

 minutes and finally pitching downward and alighting not far from its 

 starting point. It is never found in flocks, for although a dozen may be 

 found in the compass of an acre they usually rise singly, circle independently, 

 and alight separately. 



It is most abundant Hi)ring and fall, arrives from the south as soon as the 

 23 



